NEW DELHI: Firecrackers will not be sold in Delhi and nearby towns on Diwali this time as the Supreme Court has restored a ban on their sale till November 1, saying it wants to assess the difference to the air quality.Each year, the festival leaves the air in Delhi thick with smoke and pollution.

The court's ban, which responds to petitions flagging deadly pollution in the capital, means that firecrackers will not be sold in Delhi on Diwali next Thursday. Those who had already bought firecrackers can still burst them.

"We are pained to hear that some people are trying to give a communal colour to our order. It is sad," the top court said, rejecting a petition by traders to modify the order on grounds that they had spent lakhs on firecracker stocks that would remain unsold on Diwali.

The order has divided public opinion, with some on social media objecting to the impact on the celebration of a "Hindu festival".